In building construction, it is often necessary to provide ready access to spaces containing functional building elements behind finished surfaces such as walls and ceilings. For example, access may be required to reach plumbing fixtures, valves on water lines, meters on gas lines, electrical fixtures, switches, circuit breakers, or the like positioned behind a finished building surface such as a wall or ceiling.
Frequently, access is accomplished by providing an opening in the finished construction surface and inserting an access door that can be opened in the opening. The access panel or access door provides access to the space behind the opening. In situations where the access panel or access door is regularly viewed by persons within the building, the access panel or access door may also provide an aesthetically pleasing look consistent with the finished construction surface.
Building codes and/or insurance requirements may mean that walls must possess a certain minimum level of fire and thermal resistance in certain circumstances. The installation of access panels or access doors in a wall can alter the wall's fire and thermal resistance. If the access door or access panel is not designed to resist fire and/or heat, then the fire and thermal resistance of the wall will be lowered.
Fire-rated access doors are frequently made of materials such as metal that have a high thermal conductivity. Installation of a fire-rated access door that will comply with typical building codes requires that the framing of the wall or other construction surface in which the access door is installed be insulated from the frame of the access door to provide a thermal break between the access door frame and the building framing. This is particularly so in the case of buildings having wood-framed construction, where a thermal break is required between a metal frame of the access door and the wood frame of the building.
Often, insulation of the framing at the site where an access door is installed is achieved by lining the opening in which the access door is to be installed with a thermally insulative material such as drywall or gypsum. The thermally insulative material provides a thermal break between the frame of the access door and the frame of the opening in the construction surface. However, installation of such materials is reliant on the installer, and in some cases the installer may forget to install the thermally insulative material, or even intentionally choose not to do so.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.